1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a water purifier which can detect the consumption of purified water and substitute the consumed water with a fresh supply of purified water without the use of an external electric power source, thereby always maintaining a predetermined amount of purified water accessible for further use.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Water is one of the indispensable elements of human life. The quantity of water required by an average human body amounts to several liters per day.
The origin of human civilization can be traced back to geographical areas having sufficient water systems. Recently, numerous dams and wells have been constructed in an effort to efficiently use or obtain water.
In proportion to industrial progress, however, large quantities of polluted water are inevitably generated. The polluted water affects the rivers as well as underground streams by contaminating the water beneath the surface of the ground. As a result, most people feel hesitant about drinking natural water or running water provided by the city water system. Thus, at the present time, boiling or purifying treatments performed by a water purifier is absolutely necessary before running water is to be consumed.
Generally, water purifiers are classified into natural-type and forced-type purifiers.
In natural-type purifiers, natural water or running water has to be manually loaded onto the purifier's reservoir. Then, the purifier employing an active carbon and plurality of filters purifies the water stored in the reservoir while the water flows down to the transparent storage case by its own gravitational force.
In the natural-type purifier, however, the water level of the reservoir or transparent storage case has to be checked directly by human vision so as to manually substitute the depleted natural or running water. The purification ability of natural-type purifier, which does not require electronic device or external power source, is superior to that of the forced-type purifier. On the other hand, the forced-type purifier includes electronic devices for depleting the water level in the reservoir, and a motor for automatically substituting the water in accordance with the detected water level. Thus, the forced-type purifier forcibly pumps the water stored in the reservoir by the motor's operation, and subsequently purifies with rapid speed.
In the forced-type purifier, however, peripherals equipments such as a motor, pump, and electronic sensor are necessarily required. Thus, the cost of the forced-type purifier is much greater than that of the natural-type. Furthermore, the water passes rapidly through the forced-type filter at high pressure. Therefore, the filter is more easily damaged from high-pressure flow.